Broken Servant
by Falstaf
Summary: Three years have passed since Naruto returned Sasuke to the Leaf after the battle int he Valley of End. Three years passed since Naruto left the village. He returns as a broken man, living only to fufill his master's orders.
1. Orders and Seals

_Orders and seals are a part of life for a shinobi. Orders are taken and seals are broken. When an order is fufilled, the servant's master is pleased. When a seal is broken, the user in more powerfull. When a human breaks all his seals, the subconcious automatically assumes orders as its most important duty. The mind and bosdy addapt._

It was raining…it always seemed to be raining at that time of night for as long as he could remember. '_Sasuke…Sakura….Kakashi-sensie…master. I'll be home soon_'. The dark figure dragged on through the forests of the great fire country. He tried his best to remember why he was there, or where he was at all. The only thing driving him forward were his instincts. He had left this place almost 3 years ago.

-----------------------------------------Flashback-------------------------------------

"WHY! Why do you have to leave! You brought me back so I could be stronger…stronger with you and Sakura! You said we could accomplish our goals together!" Sasuke shouted angrily at the orange clad figure about to depart from the Konoha Hidden Village gates. "ANSWER ME!"

"…" Naruto met his shouts with an awkward silence. He hid his features inside the large shadow of the gates, the moonlight already obstructed by the rain clouds overhead.

"I have to do this Sasuke…" The shaded figure said in a cold tone, but underneath that tone, Sasuke could detect just a bit of remorse and sadness. "I have to accomplish our goals…"

"OUR goals! WHAT DO YOU MEAN? " Sasuke shouted angrily.

Just as soon as the dark haired shinobi finished his sentence, the orange figure was already speeding his way out the gates…to the forest.

"Goodbye my friends…I will see you again. I will accomplish our goals first, and then…only then…will I be accepted as what I've become. Wait for me…I have miles to go before I sleep, and dreams to crush before my feet". The darkened figure, already out of hearing range of anyone, muttered to himself, racing past the forest and the rain.

----------------------------------------- End Flashback-------------------------------------

Anbu were always on steady watch during the night, covering almost every 50 or so yards of the gate. After the prized Uchiha prodigy of the village had unceremoniously left in the middle of the night three years ago, the Hokage had beefed up security. Not that it mattered anymore, because the Anbu were told that someone had beaten the crap out of their prodigy to bring him back. Afterwards, the cursed seal on the boys shoulder was removed and he was promptly forgiven. The Hokage had deduced that the seal had affected his mind as well as his charka.

"Slow night, like always…" Said the teal marked weasel maksed Anbu to another.

"Eh, not like it makes any difference." Replied the Red marked ape Anbu. "after all, since word got out about the beefed up defences, no one would be stupid enough to ever attempt coming here at this ti…" Just then, the ape Anbu froze in mid sentence.

"Wha…" The weasel Anbu froze, almost imitating his friend.

"This charka…its huge! Sound the alarm and being preparations for a defensive! There must be more than fourty out there to make this kind of signature!" The ape Anbu rechecked his surroundings, preparing for an imminent attack. Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the charka signature vanished from both Anbu's senses.

"What the f…" Said the weasel Anbu, once again pausing mid sentence. The ape Anbu realized that a figure was now standing directly beneath the gates of Konoha, standing there.

"WHO ARE YOU? STATE YOUR BUSINESS!" Said the ape Anbu, trying to discern the characteristics of the figure before the gates. It was after midnight and raining, after all.

The ape Anbu could sense no murderous intentions from the new comer, and could also feel no strong charka coming from him. He decided to jump to the ground to survey the situation better.

The ape Anbu was giving a critical eye towards the new comer. He was wearing an open pitch black cloak with a high colar. On his right shoulder, lay a shoulder pad that rose even higher than the collar to cover the mans left cheek, stopping just before the eyes, and the rest of the shoulder guard seemed to take the shape of the rest of his shoulder, pointing out slightly where the shoulder had stopped (reminiscent of a gladiator). His face was covered entirely by a hood that was attached to the cloak. What the Anbu saw next shocked him a little into a defensive stance.

He noticed that the figure was carrying…or rather dragging…two things in his hands. One, which set up suspicion but not alarm from the ape Anbu, was a brown bag with no discernable markings on it. At first, he sought of a possible smuggler, but he changed his opinion when he saw what was in the stranger's other hand. The stranger held a 6ft thin blade, absolutely dripping with blood. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the stranger's cloak had some dried blood on it as well. His black baggy pants also had dried blood on them, as did his grey netted shirt under his black overshirt. Even his Kunai and Shuriken holsters, attacked to his right and left chest pockets, were stained with blood.

Just as his defensive stance kicked in with instinct, so did the alarms of Konoha.

"I must see the Hokage…I must sleep…I have traveled miles before I slept, and now I can finally sleep" said the stranger in a low and raspy voice.

"No one sees the Hokage without an inv" Just before the Ape Anbu could finish speaking, the stranger had appeared behind him. The Anbu did not even see how the stranger appeared there. Before he could even react, a katana hilt sent him unconscious with a blow to the back of his head. The weasel Anbu was also sent flying backwards in a similar fashion when he tried to detain the stranger, but did not receive a blow to the head, and hence not a concusion. Instead, he had broken more than six ribs from an impact he couldn't even see.

"YOU….you wont…get…far" He said before he passed out.

"Miles….and miles I have traveled…I have crushed many other's dream to fufill the dreams…of my master…now I can sleep soon" Said the figure.

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The entire town was on alert. Within minutes, the civilians had been woken and evacuated into safe zones. Konoha's preparation speed had increased since the Sound had declared war on them. Anbu were now swarming around the center of the village in front of the Hokage tower, where a circle was formed around their unwelcome guest. Minutes later, Jounin and Chunnin were also present in the circle, ready to mete out the death of whoever it was that seemed to think they could destroy Konoha by themselves.

Rain was pouring down on them, and darkness seemed to cover all. The figure in the center of the circle was kneeling down on his sword, cloak covering even his arms. The bag he was carrying was beside him.

"Surely you realize this is futile." Said the Godaime Hokage. She had been awoken rather rudely by Kakashi and Jiraya when the alarms went off. Luckily, Kakashi had no missions, and since the declaration of war came from the sound, Jiraiya had taken up permanent residence inside the village walls, opting to defend his home from their former teammate and fellow Sannin, Orochimaru. "You HAVE to be completely insane to think you can take us with on by yourself. I don't know who you are, but if you lay down your weapons, we will go easi…"

"I have traveled for miles and miles and I did not sleep. I have crushed the dreams of many to achieve that of ours. Do not deny me sleep…master." Interrupted the figure coldly. A nagging sensation began to work its way up to the Hokage's mind. '_What does he mean by OUR dream? And why did he call me 'master'? Exactly who is this guy?_'. "I will say this one last time. Who are you, and what do you want with the Hidden Village of the Leaf?"

An awkward silence ensued.

The figure moved his right hand and placed it over the bag. He threw the bag toward the feet of the Hokage. '_Hah, must be one of Orochimaru's assassination attempts…probably snakes in the bag_' "You think I'de be stupid enough to fall for such an obvious trap?"

Just then, she noticed something sparkle behind the black cloak of the stranger. Through the small opening on his cloak, she could see a necklace. The Hokage immediately remembered that shine very well, as it was with her almost all her life. "WHERE DID YOU GET THAT NECKLACE! WHO DID YOU KILL TO GET IT?" She shouted anger apparent on every one of her mannuerisims.

"…" Another silent pause.

'Something is wrong…I need to see whats in the bag. I have a feeling its not a trap'. "Kakashi, use your sharingan to tell me whats in the bag". Kakashi did what he was told. He lifted the Hidden Leaf headband over his left eye. His eyes widened in shock, which he did not hide from others. "What? What's in there!" said the Goadaime, in reply to her subordinate's obvious shock.

"The bag contains no traps of any kind…its just that, whats inside the bag…" Kakshi paused, regaining his composure. "is a human head".

'Oh God…..god no…god no…please don't let the head be him…don't let it be Naruto'.

"IF WHATEVER IS IN THIS BAG IS WHO I THINK IT IS, WHICH WOULD EXPLAIN MY NECKLACE ON YOUR NECK, YOUR DEATH WILL LAST FOR MONTHS!" Raged the Hokage, almost losing what little control she had over her blinding rage.

"Kakashi, tell me whos head it is". Kakashi's Sharingan could only confirm the silhouette of the contents and confirm the lack of traps. So he proceeded to the bag to open it.

Jiraya, standing next to the Hokage was also in a blind rage, for only he knew of the necklace and it being given to Naruto.

Jiraiya's thoughts were plucked from his mind when he heard a loud gasp from Kakashi when he peeked inside. His eyes widened to almost inhuman size. He immedialty looked pale. "Oh….my….God.." were the only audible speech patterns coming from the Jounin.

"This…this is impossible! There is no way!" Said Kakshi frantically.

"KAKASHI!" countered the Hokage, trying to snap Kakashi out of his shocked stupor. "WHOS HEAD IS IT?"

Kakashi looked around him and regained his composure. Although those next to him could tell he was still shivering. He reached inside the bag and grabbed the hair of the dismembered head. "It belongs to…" he then lifted the head up for all so see

"The snake is dead, Orochimaru has fallen." Interrupted the stranger with a raspy breath. Everyone, officially abhorred and shocked that Orochimaru's head was indeed the one in the bag, began to shift their gaze to the stranger, "With him the Akatsuki met their demise as well when they opposed me during our fight."

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!" The Hokage screamed, finally losing to her anger and fear of who this stranger was.

The stranger started to rise. It was now visible that his right hand was tied tightly in bandages, covering every other knuckle. His left hand had a long sleeve shirt on it in comparison to his right. Both the sleeve and bandages were pitch black. His right hand started to rise to his head, towards the hood of his cloak.

"And now I that my master's foes have been banished from this world…their dreams crushed beneath my feet…I will now sleep, with your permission Hokage-sama…my master." Said the stranger as he slowly undid his hood. "Your dreams have been accomplished through the destruction of other's." The cloak fell around his neck. What was visible was that the stranger had short spiked blonde hair and a horsetail at the back, also as spiky as his head. He had three large whisker marks on the right side of his face that looked as is they were painted on, because they were blood red. In the end, his eyes gave him away. That sky blue lake could only belong to one person, and that person was…

"NARUTO!" The Hokage let out as a gasp, and strated to close the distance between them.

"We thought you were dead!" She said as she hugged him, noticing his height was now 6ft, and well beyond her own.

"I'm…sorry…I took…so long…master." He said between breaths.

The world went black to him. He could only feel himself being light as a feather, which meant he was already suffering from the side effects of his body's healing.

"He's finally back…" Said the Hokage.now shedding her tears of joy.

"SEND FOR THE MEDICAL TEAM IMMEDIATELY!" said the Hokage, after witnessing Naruto fall down and leave a remarkably large crater in the pavement from impact.

Elsewhere in the crowd, several figures seemed to be sharing a set of jumbled emotions. The Panda masked Anbu with pink hair, the blue haired white eyed Jounin instructor, the white haired Kakashi, the long blond haired Chunin, the long black haired and white eyed Jounin, the green clad bowl cut Chunin, and the dark haired Fox masked sharingan user were all frightened, worried, stupefied, and happy that their friend was back.

-----------------------------------------End Chapter-------------------------------------


	2. Unconscious Assualt

A/N

I would like to thank all my reviewers.Your input on this certain fic will greatly influence it.

In regards to certain questions about pairings...to put it bluntly, I havn't decided them yet. Answering another question, this fic is rated M because the battle scenes later on will usually be in GREAT detail (one good/serious battle will most likely take an entire chapter), to involve the gory parts. And in regards to the last question concerning the detail involved my my story; I like to write with a lot of detail. Its my style. Hence, chapters will usually end with (in retrospect) not a lot happening, but gives the reader an advanced understanding of the story's plot, characters, and the latter's surroundings.

Lastly, in regards to how long this particular fic will last and how frequently I will update, I have twot hings to say. One; I HATE oneshots, so this fic will last as long as my creativity will carry me...which should be a very good amount of chapters. Second; I can't promise to update once a day or anything drastic like that. I have work and school, so I can update AT LEAST once every 4 days. Probubly more than that, but four days is the limit. Once again, thank you.

A/N

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The medical team had been brief with Naruto's unconscious form for two reasons. One was that they were kind of intimidated because Naruto simply fell straight downwards from a standing position, so his clothes have to have concealed a LOT of weights in order to make the 24 foot diameter crater he was lying face down in. The second reason was connected to the first—they couldn't flip him over because all six members of the medical team could not lift him.

About ten Jounins and ten minutes later, he was mobile. They had managed to locate the source of the weights. They wasted no time and ditched his cloak, single shoulder guard, and the rest of his weights. His sword was also left in its place on the ground. Later that night, a certain Green Beast of Konoha could only manage to move a few to the hospital room of their owner. The rest still laid there on the street in a giant crater.

Once Naruto weighed enough to be flipped, the medical team went about diagnosing their patient. It was then that Tsunade got a better look at the unconscious Naruto. His once bright blonde hair seems to have faded. It was now a ghostly pale blonde hue. Other tell tale signs of his ageing would be apparent as the medical team put him on a stretcher and his face began to be lighted by the street lamps. There were three things that Tsunade noticed about Naruto. The first, was that with his new height and hair color, he seemed to have lost his youthful innocence. The second thing she noticed was his teeth. Even though he was asleep with his mouth closed, she could see the tip of his canines. It wasn't enough that you could see them from more than a few feet, but they were still noticeable up close. She tried to imagine the old Naruto smiling at her and pictured the current Naruto with the same smile. She shuddered. It would appear more like a predator about to consume its prey.

The third thing she noticed, and then berated herself from not noticing it sooner, was his left eye. Now that his shoulder guard was tossed, which oddly enough covered his left eye, she noticed two scars. They were light gray, meaning that the scar had to be fairly old. One scar went horizontally across his face, starting at the beginning of his upper left cheek and ending at the ridge of his nose. The other scar ran vertically from the middle of his forehead to end in a criss cross over the horizontal scar. The vertical scar went straight through the middle of his eye. His right eye was closed, but his left eye was open, revealing no pupil or iris. It wasn't like the famous Hyuuga Byakugan. There eyes looked similar, but had a lavender hue to make it seem more pleasant…more alive. Naruto's left eye looked completely dead. There was no doubt in here mind that he was blind in his left eye. She shuddered again, remembering the Kybuubi's healing power on Naruto, and for such an ability to not be able to repair the damage on his eye, the wound must have initially been horrendous.

"What is the condition of the patient?" Said Tsunade, her voice teetering on remorse and concern.

"Hokage-sama," replied the lead medic-nin, "we have diagnosed this patient as having fourteen different fractures. His right ribcage is almost shattered, both femurs have been broken, his left arm from the elbow joint down is almost irreparable, his right ankle has been broken in 3 different places, and his left shoulder joint is torn in five different place. Along with the several brakes, we have detected lacerations and scar tissue found in various places on his body, but we need to get him to the hospital to properly diagnose him." The medic-nin concluded. "It's a miracle he was even able to stand at all."

Tsunade, having fought the bile rising in her throat down, noticed a large number of people behind her. She instantly recognized them and started to shift into her role of Hokage.

"Neji, Hinata, Ino, Kakashi-san, you are dismissed." She was sorry that she had to dismiss them, but too many people in one room is obviously going to get in the way of delicate medical procedures. "I will update you on Naruto's condition once he is stabilized."

"Sakura," she said to her apprentice, "you stay and help with the procedures… and Sasuke," above one of the rooftops, a certain Anbu member froze in his stride. "You are also dismissed." The Anbu stopped and looked at Sakura. Sakura nodded, and the Anbu left. It was a non-verbal agreement between the two that Sasuke would leave without an argument if Sakura would update him sooner than the Hokage.

With the stragglers gone, Tsunade, Sakura, and the medic-nin continued to rush Naruto to the hospital.

They all finally arrived at the hospital, to which Tsunade secured a private large room for Naruto and escorted the party there. Two medic-nin left the room, their spots replaced by the Hokage and her apprentice.

After setting Naruto down on the examination table, they stripped his shirt and pants, taking careful measures to avoid aggravating an injured area. It took them about two minutes just to carefully unbandage his arms. His clothes were dropped in the corner of the room, and everyone went wide eyed at Naruto's condition. There were more scars than a single one of them could count. Scars criss crossed Naruto's body like a dance of blades. They were not as gentle looking as the scars on his face. His body's scars had been brutal. Even more shocking was that none of them looked recent. It was like looking at a battle history record. You could tell the time of the battle by how the scar looked. Tsunade realized that even with Kyuubi's power that some wounds were so life threatening, that they could never be repaired fully. And to have so many of those kinds of injuries…it sent a shiver down Tsunades spine. Sakura experienced no shivers. She simply vomited in the corner opposite of Naruto's pile of blood saturated cloths.

"This…is unreal." Said one of the medic-nins. "He must have had more battles than most of our shinobi put together."

Sakura had finished vomiting and began another diagnostic. Her eyes went a little wide. She noticed something that no human could posses. "Tsunade-sama," said Sakura in a professional voice, with a hint of surprise, "his bones are already mending, and he appears to be molding charka…while unconscious."

"WHAT?" Yelled a surprised Hokage. What surprised her wasn't that he was already healing, but that he was molding charka, and that his seal was not showing over his naval. That could only mean one thing…that there was no longer a seal.

Naruto's eye twitched slightly. Suddenly, everyone except Tsunade was tossed to the adjacent walls of the private room as an unseen force suddenly awoke.

"Shit!" said Sakura. She was the first to notice. There were charka strings everywhere. The room looked like a messy but tight spindle of string.

"DON'T MOVE!" Said Tsunade.

An inhuman growl was heard from Naruto, whose eyes were still closed and he himself looked as immobile as when the party had set him down in the first place. The only visible signs that he was responsible for the charka strings were that every cord seemed to end wrapped around his fingers.

One of the medic-nin gave into fear and decided to struggle. All of a sudden, said medic-nin was thrashed to the center of the room via the strings, and all the occupants were watching as the strings began to tighten and draw a little blood around the nin's neck.

"Stop moving you fool!" said Tsunade, in a harsh low voice.

At this point, Tsunade's words meant nothing to the nin as he continued to struggle. If a few more units of pressure would be applied, said nin's head would be neatly severed from his body. Naruto was about to complete the nin's death wish, when Tsunade noticed his plans.

"NARUTO STOP!" Yelled the Hokage.

All of a sudden, the charka strings dissipated.

Everyone was still frozen to the place where the strings unceremoniously dropped them.

Tsunade was a little uneasy. To be able to perform that kind of charka control in their sleep was unheard of. It took a little more convincing words other than on order from the Hokage to persuade the nins from continuing their work, but they had finished bandaging his injuries at about the time the sun started to rise.

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A/N

To answer a few questions about this particular chapter, no, Sakura still doesn't know about the Kyuubi. Niether does anyone else. Furthermore, if you can't already tell by Naruto's lack of seals, said greater deamon is unnaccounted for as of yet. Next chapter will be drugging up quite a few flashbakcs, but will hopefully fill in the reasons for Naruto's departure from the leaf. Also, chakra strings are commonly used in shinobi puppeteers (I.E. Kankuro). Lastly, if you dont have a good mind's eye of Naruto's scars, think Vash from Trigun on his body, and Mangi from Blad of the Immortal for his facial scars.

Again, thanks for reading my fic, and please keep reviewing. I LOVE criticism, so don't be afraid to call me on some screw up in the plot or that its notoverall enjoyableenough.

Till next chapter


	3. Will to Power

_In every sense of the word, everyone has an unlimited amount of potential. The Will to Power can be the only limiter to one's potential. For many people, such power will only come at the cost of sacrifice. The sacrifice of self. Goals, such as power, can only be attained in this manner. As such...how far can one will himself to gain such power is up to the person himself._

The rain stopped somewhere in the middle of the night. The sun was poking out of the Eastern horizon, shadowing the monuments of the Hokages past. Tsunade had ordered a meeting for the shinobi that were directly involved with Naruto prior to his departure.

She was now walking down the street on her way to a meeting with said shinobi. She was walking at an unusually slow pace—one remenicent of a poor soul remembering her distraught past.

--------------------------------------Flashback------------------------------------

It had been four days since Sasuke was brought back to the leaf, following his battle with Naruto in the Valley of End. Naruto, at the time, was fully recovered from the multiple wounds and large hole in his chest just after the first few days. It had been the first night of sleep Tsunade was getting in all that time, thanks to her worrying about Naruto's condition.

The villagers were all too happy to have their prodigy back. Of course, none of them seemed to care that he had betrayed the Leaf. In defense of Sasuke, however, it was discovered that the cursed seal placed on him was affecting more than his charka, so they gave him a full pardon.

And now an old Hokage can finally get a good nights sleep…but alas, fate would not have it.

At 02:00 hours, a gigantic chakra wave came out of the western quadrant of Konoha.

Tsunade, to say the least, was now wide awake.

"REPORT!" she yelled, seemingly at the wall

Suddenly, two figures appeared out of said wall, looking like they had melted out of it.

"We have gotten a report of a large chakra signature in the Western section of town. Two Anbu squads have been dispatched." Replied the first guard.

Tsunade was in a slight panic. She had worried for Naruto, as a chakra signature this large could only come from one source, and said source in inside Naruto.

"Dispatch one additional Anbu squad to the Uzumaki residence and have them report back to me." Said Tsunade, regaining her composure.

'_If something happened to Naruto, I could never forgive myself…' _thought Tsunade.

Several minutes later, three Chuunins appeared in Tsunade's chambers.

"Hokage-sama," the lead Chuunin said while kneeling down, "we have located the source of the signature to be the residence of Naruto Uzumaki…"said the Chuunin, now changing his tone to one of frustration, "however, we cannot seem to find Uzumaki himself. He appears to be no where in the vicinity of Konoha".

If Tsunade had any reason to worry before, now was even a greater reason. Naruto had disappeared from radar.

'_Naruto couldn't have left of his own volition…I'm SURE of it!' _thought Tsunade angrily. '_But, if he doesn't show up soon…'_.

Tsunade knew the game of politics. And she also knew where most of the elder council of Konoha stood. They, like most of the populace, would love nothing better than to rid themselves of the 'demon fox'. No matter that Naruto risked his life countless times for his home. No matter that his very birth had made him an unloved hero. No, they would have their vengeance on the 'Kyuubi', whether it was inside Naruto or not.

Tsunade would have to declare him a missing-nin of Konoha.

--------------------------------------End Flashback------------------------------------

Tsunade continued on her somber trail to her office and the nins awaiting. She was already fifteen minutes late. The sun was a little higher now, banishing the darkness over the Hokage monument and giving the figures therein more defined features. There facial features cast shadows beneath them. The figure with the biggest shadow was the Fourth Hokage.

Tsunade couldn't understand why the Fourth did what he did.

She could understand his willingness to save the village. _'But why Naruto?'_ she often found herself thinking. _'Why…why of all the children of Konoha born on that day would he choose his own…his own son?'_.

She never got an answer to her questions, as the Fourth had given his life in the sealing ritual. Maybe he couldn't ask the village what he himself could give. Maybe he meant for the village to look up to Naruto for his sacrifice…no…in order for one to sacrifice, one must willingly make it. Naruto was hours old when he was infused with the Kyuubi's soul. He couldn't have made a decision.

But all that did not matter now. Remembering Naruto's current condition brought her out of her moping mood and urged her to explain…as best she could…to those who had once been his friends.

She feared what she was about to do. She feared explaining to the few shinobi that were dear to Naruto of his condition…of his new features…of what might have happened to change him forever. She dreaded it almost as much as she dreaded that day three years ago…almost four days after Naruto's departure.

--------------------------------------Flashback------------------------------------

"Hokage-sama," said the elder of the council, "we must take action now. We can only wait so long for the demon to return!"

Tsunade was angry. In fact, she couldn't recall more of a stronger anger in her life. These people…and what they wanted her to do.

"We must declare the demon boy a missing-nin." Said the council member to the elder's right.

Tsunade had no more power over the council than it of her. But, the game of politics is twisted, cruel, and leaves a somewhat horrible taste in your mouth.

"What good would it be to declare a child of 13 years a missing-nin!" Tsunade roared, placing heavy emphasis on the word 'child', in contrast to the council referring to him as a 'demon boy'.

"The demon is powerful, and we can only assume that his power will increase." Stated the calmer council member to the elder's left. "We tolerated his presence here only because he swore allegiance to the Leaf. However…" he stated, raising his tone on the last part, "he betrayed us in the end!"

Before Tsunade had a chance to speak up, the elder council member cut in.

"I propose we declare one Uzumaki Naruto as a missing-nin and S-class criminal of the Leaf!" The council started to rumble as every member, of approximately 32 members besides the council elder, raised there hand and shouted "HERE HERE!". It was unanimous. Tsunade was left with only one option.

"I concede to your demands." She stated wearily. "I hereby declare, by my right and prestige as Hokage of Konoha," one could see her eyes begin to moisten, "that Uzumaki Naruto be declared a missing-nin and S-class criminal…" she now began to weep silently at her words. She knew she had been forced into this declaration, but it did not alleviate the dagger in her heart, the lump in her throat, the burning in her sides, and the salt in her eyes.

"and to be killed on sight."

--------------------------------------End Flashback------------------------------------

She found herself at the doors to her office. The two guards always on watch had stepped aside to allow her entry. She remembered how she wept after coming into her office after her council meeting three years ago. She couldn't even hold them off for a week. Not that it would have mattered, but to her, it was one of the moments in her life where she felt she was the weakest person in the world.

"Good morning Hokage-sama." Stated the guard to her left.

"The specified shinobi have already gathered and are waiting inside, as per your request." Stated the guard to her right.

She turned the handle of the old oak doors and nudged it open. She solemly strode to her chair, ignoring the confused and worry-ridden glares of those she had told to meet her here.

"Good morning Hokage-sama," stated Kakashi, obviously trying to mask his apprehension with a monotoned voice, "Hinata, Sakura, Sasuke, Ino, Neji, Kiba, Shikamaru, Lee, Chouji, Iruka-san, and I have gathered here as per your orders." Tsunade was aware that Kakashi would be doing the most talking, seeing as the group in front of her had probably chosen his role long before she strode into her office.

"Good morning everying." She stated, in a rivaling monotone voice. "You are here this morning to be updated on the condition of one Uzumaki Naruto."

She went on to explain his injuries, and that they have already healed. No one seemed to dispute his healing factor, although the younger ones of the group didn't know why he healed that fast, they certainly knew he had always had such an ability. She explained the best she could with what little she herself had, cleverly leaving out the parts concerning Kyuubi. She was still atleast adamant about keeping his secret from the Konoha youth, feeling the only person who should tell them is Naruto himself. She also avoided the issue of his incident involving his chakra strings and four medic-nin, along with her apprentice.

"That is all I know, until Naruto wakes up." Tsunade concluded.

"You may all take leave now. I will recall you as soon as he wakes up, and no mission will be assigned to either of you until he does. You have my word." Said Tsunade. She could clearly read the expressions of worry on all their faces. Let is be known that Tsunade was many thing, but 'uncompassionate' was not one of them.

They all began to file out of the room after giving proper respects to the Hokage, and small thanks from each of them. Kakashi was the last one to leave, sensing something was left out of Tsunade's explanation. "Kakashi, stay." She said, to which Kakashi nodded his head and stood at attention in front of the Hokage's desk.

"There was an incident involving Naruto as we were diagnosing him." She said, cutting off Kakashi's question before he even asked it. She went on the explain the incident in detail, leaving the most important unsaid.

"Chakra strings in his sleep, and in mass number?" stated Kakshi with a little bit of surprise to his voice. He was surprised that Naruto was able to do that. He had the impression he was stronger, sure. One couldn't beat the snake-sannin without being VERY strong. But, to restrain and almost kill five people in his sleep without tipping off the slug-sannin, the Hokage of Konoha, was just ludicrous.

"That isn't what concerns me Kakashi." She said, her voice now breaking into emotion. She began to explain his one red eye, his changed hair color, and most importantly…

"Most importantly, he was molding chakra." She said, as Kakashi looked down. He didn't like where this conversation was going. "Naruto didn't have his shirt on at the time." This statement from Tsunade was etched with worry and sadness. Kakashi now knew what she was going to say next, but he didn't want to hear it just as much as she didn't want to say it.

"His seal is gone, and that can only mean one thing." The Hokage stated on the brink of tears.

There was a long silence, and not one of them was willing to speak. Tsunade regained her composure and shifted into her role as Hokage.

"Dispatch three squads of Jounin level Anbu to Naruto's hospital room." She said, with coldness in her voice, intertwined with remorse in her breaths.

"Naruto is no longer Naruto. He has merged with the Kyuubi." She said, as in the second time in her life, she felt like a dagger was stabbed straight through her heart.

A/N

Yes, I know this is a cliffhangar, and although this chapter revealed the details of Naruto's departrue, it did not explain WHY he left, WHY he is back, or WHAT he did while he was gone and has become. This is the point of a cliffhangar. Yes, I know I'm evil. The next chapter will explain a lot, and towards the end, you will all get what you wanted. Naruto will wake up.

Also, thank you all again for your reviews. As long as your guys keep reading and commenting, I'll keep writing. By the way, this is my first fiction ever, so I really do need negative feedback as well. I'm trying to write a novel (as a hobby apart from writing this fic) and I need to perfect my writing style.

Till next chapter.

A/N


	4. And Crimson Shot Forth

A/n

Sorry about the lack of updates. I literally broke my right wrist recently, so my typing is incredibly slow and a little sloppy. However, as I am now released from the hospital, I will begin to update very frequently. Also, to those questions asked on the reviews pages, there will not be any Yaoi in this fic, nor will there be any Tsunade x Naruto. This is my decision, as I fear that I'm already spreading it thin by making Naruto so out of character already(...plus Yaoi really creeps me the fuck out...).

A/n

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True to his orders, Kakashi had assembled three groups of Jounin level Anbu to guard Naruto. One group was stationed on either side of Naruto and the third group was stationed outside the door. Because of the low volume of patients in the hospital lately, Tsunade had arranged for the entire wing to be vacant.

"We are ready to begin." Said Morino Ibiki, standing next to Inoishi Yamanaka.

"Very well, proceed with the operation." Said Tsunade.

Inioshi began using seals for his family's signature technique while Ibiki began casting a genjutsu meant to weaken the mind and make it susceptible to foreign influence. As soon as Inoishi's body went limp, his consciousness found its way to black room.

The room itself was as wide as it was tall. To say the least, he felt like he was in a void with a flooded floor. There were no doors…no hallways. Such a mind can only mean one thing.

'_His mind has been completely destroyed…but I've never encountered anything that could do this kind of damage.'_ Thought Inoishi.

Slowly, splashing his way in what appeared to be the direction of some kind of light. It resembled the peaking light of dusk, with several livid colors surrounded by pure darkness on all other sides. He stepped ever closer until he came upon something. Something that shouldn't be in a normal mind.

'_This is what the Hokage described to me as what should be the gate for the Kyuubi…if that's correct, were in deep shit.'_ Inoishi thought with a morbid calmness.

He carefully looked at the structure before him, taking in every detail. What lye before him was nothing but mangled and gnarled bars of metal. They were horribly twisted. As far as the eye could see to either side, the bars of the cell were in the same shape. As he looked down, he noticed a piece of paper floating in the ankle deep waters. It read "seal".

"Friend or foe?" came a bone chilling voice from the depths of the void…on the Kyuubi's side.

Safe to say, Inoishi was already contemplating ending his jutsu before he had to face what had become of the demon vessel.

As Inoishi began to raise his left hand to form the tiger seal, he heard the sound of wind being split, and he was suddenly restrained by a human hand. He didn't even have time to react as he was thrown across the cell, further into what used to be the Kyuubi's quarters. A sickening piercing sound was heard as Inoishi had landed. His left hand had been impaled on one of the mangled metal bars of what use to be Kyuubi's cell.

"Dammit! You demon brat! I knew I shouldn't have let Tsunade talk me into trying to save your ass!" Roared Inioshi, trying to bite down the pain. It wasn't a fatal injury, but that didn't stop it from hurting like hell.

"….."

Inoishi's roar had been responded to by silence. Naruto's figure was like a living shadow.

"Aren't you going to finish me off!" Yelled Inoishi.

"No. You are a servant like myself." Replied Naruto in a neutral tone. Too neutral, as if he had been devoid of emotion all his life.

Just as soon as Naruto finished speaking, did his shadowed figure disappear from view and Inoishi was cast back into the living world.

"Yamanaka-san, Report." Tsunade said as she noticed movement from Inoishi's now conscious figure, all too aware that his bleeding arm was being now treated by one of the medic-nins attached to the Anbu squad on Naruto's left.

"Uhg…" grunted Inoishi. The bright white and crisp air of the hospital room was a stark contrast to the mold and darkness of Naruto's mind.

Inoishi began to explain what events had happened inside Naruto's mind.

"I see…" said Tsunade. It was like the council meeting all over again. Her hand was about to be forced. She had already lost two of her most precious people in her life to war and violence. She was about to lose her third person…her second little brother. By her own hand.

She nodded to Kakashi, trying to keep composure. She was desperately trying not to weep. She had done enough weeping for the boy. She wept when he was declared a missing nin, she wept when she thought he had been gone to long and worried for him, she wept when she thought he was dead, she wept when he returned…different.

The situation was not any easier on Kakashi. This was one of his only three students he had ever bothered to take under his wing. Even more dramatic was the fact that he was the son of his former teacher.

Kakashi had raised a remorseful Kunai to Naruto's throat, about to make a slice. He decided to look at Naruto's face one more time before his death would become all too real. He traced Naruto's facial features with his eyes. The three whisker marks, now so thick they looked painted on with blood. His now pale blonde hair. His two scars. His left eye…an eye that looked as dead as Naruto would have to be in a few seconds.

He raised the Kunai, attempting to make the kill painless.

One red eye shot open. The dark pupil darted across the room, blurring and dancing on a pool of crimson.

Kakashi was surprised to say the least, but he still had a duty. He brought down the Kunai, intending to kill.

Naruto stopped Kakashi's hand by grabbing the Jounin's wrist. It looked as if he just grabbed what was in front of him calmly, like an infant grabbing his father's finger.

"AAAARGH!" Yelled a wide-eyed Kakashi.

His arm now fell limply to his side, wrist completely shattered. Simultaneously, both groups of Anbu around Naruto sprung into action.

The room erupted in a violent shake. It wasn't as if the room was shaking, it was more like the inhabitants of said room were having there eye sockets vibrated erratically.

'Genjustu?...' thought Kakashi. 'No…this is pure charka.'

"Split…" was whispered by Naruto, interrupting the silver haired Jounin's thought pattern.

Seemingly, about 3 squads worth of Kage Bunshins molded out of Narutos body.

Two squads of Naruto's Kage Bunshin grabbed and retrained all of the Anbu with eye blinking speeds. Such speeds were not supposed to be attainable by humans.

The Anbu struggled fruitlessly. Kakashi, who was technically leading the first squad, was the first to be dragged into a kneeling position before the now horror-paralyzed Tsunade. The rest of the Anbu followed Kakashi's suit and struggled fruitlessly, only to be brought to Tsunade in a similar position.

The third squad of Kage Bunshin left the room even before the Anbu had been apprehended.

There was a silence for about four seconds after the motion of Naruto's clones and the Anbu stopped struggling…mostly due to the fact that each of Naruto's clones that were holding down the Anbu, also had what looked to be a clawed hand to their throats.

"W…what the hel…" Tsunade said, before movement registered in the corner of her eye to where the real Naruto was still lying down. He began to move, slowly, but surely, to a spot behind the clones and the retrained Anbu, facing Tsunade.

"What are your orders?" Spoke Naruto in a raspy and emotionless tone.

"What?" Said Tsunade, now completely shocked and expecting to suffer some sort of heart condition from the events that had just unfolded in front of her.

Tsunade, at this point, was nearly histerical. She had never seen such a display of skill before, and what more, Naruto was unconscious! He must have responded to a direct threat on his life. She was also shocked to see the technique he used. First the charka strings…now summoning Kage Bunshin without seals, and in a way that she had never seen before. And the Clones must have been vastly powerful in order to disarm and immobilize all those Anbu.

"What are your orders…" Naruto repeated, "…My Master?"

'Master?' Tsunade thought. 'His mind must be much more damaged than I thought…but…to call me _Master_…'

"Release them. Immediately." Said Tsunade, regaining her fractured composure.

"Hai….Master." Naruto replied, as he dismissed his clones into puffs of smoke.

The Anbu froze. Naruto was suppose to be a threat…a very serious one. He had managed to immobilize all of them, their very lives hanging on his whim. They had all prepared for death as soon as they felt the clawed hands on their throats. As soon as they were released, Kakashi was the first to act. He immediately let his uninjured hand drop and began forming the beginnings of a Chidori.

"STOP!" yelled Inoishi. He was among the Anbu restrained. After Kakashi let the beginning stages of his famous move sizzle to a halt, he approached Tsunade.

"Hokage-sama, I'm sorry but there is no need to kill Uzumaki." Stated Inoishi calmly. Tsunade had the facial expression of confusion. "I understand what has happened to Naruto. He is not a threat…just the opposite actually."

"Explain." Stated Tsunade.

"Naruto's mind is…to say the least…broken beyond any kind of repair. But…the strange thing is, however powerful he might be, he recognizes you as his 'master' and himself as your 'servant'. In his entire mind, that was the only thing that was not fractured.

She considered this for a few moments.

"Leave us." She half-yelled to her Anbu, which instinctively knew not to argue with her when she took that tone.

All the Anbu, Kakashi, Ibiki, and Inoishi included, left the room.

There was yet another long silence between the only two inhabitants of the room, to which Tsunade broke first.

"Naruto…" said the Godaime, in a low tone so that anyone outside would not hear, "…or Kyuubi?"

"Neither…" stated the form of Naruto, "…just your servant. Although I am not Naruto-tousan…or Kyuubi-tousan…you may call this one Naruto.

Several things shocked her about his response. First was the obvious fact that Naruto was no longer the same person in any sense of the word. The second was his use of suffix to Naruto's and Kyuubi's names.

"Did you merge with the Kyuubi, Naruto?" She decided to still call him Naruto.

"Naruto-tousan and Kyuubi-tousan merged. I am the result of that merging. They are…my fathers." Replied Naruto, still in a raspy voice and no emotion.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"To serve my master, to serve the Hokage of Konoha." He replied.

So many questions and too little time…

"Why? Explain." she asked, which seemed to sum up all her questions best.

"Naruto-tousan left the village three years ago, after the retrieval of the one he called Sasuke-teme. He left in order to merge with Kyuubi-tousan. In truth, they had hated each other, one inherently evil, and the other inherently good. Naruto-tousan had traveled for three weeks and came upon an isolated cave and proceeded to confront Kyuubi-tousan. He knew that he would eventually have to merge with Kyuubi-tousan, as he had discovered the true purpose of his seal shortly before his departure. Shiki Fuujin was meant to eventually merge two into one. Naruto-tousan perceived himself as a threat to the dreams and lives of Konoha, its citizens, and the Hokage. He could not bear to see his loved ones hurt and their dreams unattainable because of it. He decided to take matters into his own hands by leaving, confronting Kyuubi-tousan, and trying to take control of the merging, leaving himself for the dominant merging party." Replied this new Naruto before her. His response was void of emotion.

Tsunade was trying to absorb the overload of information that he just dumped on her, silently thanking him for pausing before he continued. This certainly answered the bulk of her questions, but she still had some very important ones.

"Naruto-tousan eventually won the after two and a half years of battling Kyuubi-tousan in his mindscape. At the end of said battle, Shiki Fuujin completed its purpose. Naruto-tousan had broken most of his bones, which I only just began recently healed a few hours ago. Kyuubi-tousan's last strike was to Naruto-tousan's left eye, where he was finally absorbed. "

'That explains all the scars…almost three years of battle with Kyuubi will do that to you even WITH his accelerated healing. ' Tsunade thought.

"Kyuubi-tousan's cage erupted and Naruto-tousan's psyche became forever altered. The result is myself. After the merging, I realized what Naruto-tousan had accomplished. I inherited Kyuubi-tousans power and knowledge, but Naruto-tousans true strongest desires. Naruto-tousan fought hard to keep his strongest desires. Among them was the strongest, the desire to serve and protect the people closest to him, all of which belonged to Konoha. Thus, I live to serve you, the Hokage…My Master." Naruto explained.

Another few long moments of silence ensued, in order for Tsunade to absorb the information.

"What happened after the merger?" Asked Tsunade, breaking the long silence again and urging Naruto to continue.

"After my…creation…I began to fulfill my desires…the desire to accomplish the dreams of those who have been dear to me before." Said Naruto. "I have killed Orochimaru for the threat he posed to yourself and Konoha. I have killed four of the members of Akatsuki, of those four, three of them were the leading members, thus cutting off the organization's head. After which, I had still not recovered from Naruto-tousan's wounds, but managed to make it here, to Konoha. The rest is as it is now." Finished Naruto.

There was one last silence before the end of their long conversation, but it wasn't to absorb information…

Tears started to well up in Tsunade's eyes. She inched ever closer to Naruto, and began to embrace him, finally spilling the unshed tears she had inside her for the past three years.

'He's done so much for us…for this village. This time, Council of Elders be DAMNED, I will protect Naruto with my life!' Tsunade thought.

"W..welcome home…Naruto!" Half-sobbed half-whispered Tsunade.

Tomorrow would be a long day indeed…especially for the council.

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A/n

The next update is gonna be a lot bigger and may take some time because of it. I was originally inteding to make the next part of the story into three chapters for the council of elders interrogation/defeat, telling the Rookie Nine and other Naruto friends what happend to him/their reaction, and TESTING NARUTO SKILLS IN LIVE COMBAT AGAINST A VERY POWERFULL OPPONENT! Needless to say. two of the three will be present in the next chapter. Because im anal retentive, I will have to devote a full (and really big) chapter to the battle alone. Anyway, please keep reading and reviewing.

Also, this chapter wasn't that exiciting because i wanted to fill-in-the-blanks with all the 'Holy shit, wTf is GOING ON!' comments I get about the story. Heh...it was starting to annoy me. Anyways, feedback please!

Untill next chapter!

A/n

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